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Ethnopharmacological relevance: Anthocleista vogelii Planch is a medicinal plant traditionally used in West Africa for the management and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Aim of the study: To determine the antidiabetic activities of chloroform fraction (CF) of Anthocleista vogelii Planch root bark in rats with diet-and alloxan-induced obesity-diabetes. Materials and Methods: Inhibitory activities of CF against α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities were determined in vitro. Three weeks old rats were fed with high-fat diet for 9 weeks to induce obesity prior to further induction of diabetes using alloxan (150 mg/kg body weight, i.p.). Blood glucose levels and body weight were measured every 7 days throughout the experiment. Glucose tolerance was assessed in normal and CF-treated rats on day 21. Terminal blood samples were collected from sacrificed animals for the measurement of serum insulin levels. Pancreases were excised from treated and untreated animals for histopathological examination. Results: LCMS/MS chromatographic profile of CF via positive and negative modes revealed 13 and 23 compounds respectively. Further analysis revealed quebrachitol (QCT), loganin, sweroside, oleoside 11-methyl ester and ferulic acid, which have been previously reported for their antidiabetic activities, as constituents of CF. CF inhibited activities of α-amylase (IC 50 = 51.60 ± 0.92 µg/ml) and α-glucosidase (IC 50 = 5.86 ± 0.97 µg/ml) in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment of animals with obesity-diabetes with 100 and 200 mg/kg CF significantly improved glucose tolerance (P<0.001) and enhanced serum insulin levels (P<0.05) compared to diabetic control rats. Conclusions: Antidiabetic activities of CF might be mediated via inhibition of α-amylase and αglucosidase activities, and enhancement of insulin and leptin sensitivity in obesity-diabetes rats. This study further substantiates the traditional use of A. vogelii in the management and treatment of diabetes in Africa and encourages further studies to investigate its mechanism of action.

Context: Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder, although the cause is unknown, yet oxidative stress is a prominent feature; therefore, assessment of oxidative stress indices in preeclamptics would no doubt improve their clinical outcome. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant and malondialdehyde (MDA) status in preeclampsia. Setting and Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and ninety-six (196) respondents consisting of 124 preeclampsia (PE), 36 normotensive pregnant women (NPW), and 36 analbuminuric hypertensive pregnant women (AHPW) participated in this study. Blood samples were collected for estimation of plasma uric acid, serum MDA, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GSSH) and catalase (CAT) activities, Vitamin C (Vit C), and Vitamin E (Vit E) using standard methods. Statistical Analysis Used: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 with level of significance set at P < 0.05 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Plasma uric acid level was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in PE than in AHPW and NPW. MDA levels, SOD, CAT, and GPX activities showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in PE and AHPW when compared to NPW, while GSSH, NO, Vit C, and Vit E levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in NPW than in PE and AHPW. Most oxidative stress indicators were higher in PE and AHPW than in NPW in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, while Vit C and E were lower. Plasma uric acid, MDA and NO levels, SOD, and GPX activities were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in severe than in mild PE. Conclusion: from our findings, it can be safely suggested that oxidative stress is related to the severity of preeclampsia.

Background: Anthocleista vogelii Planch is a medicinal plant used by traditional healers in the treatment of Malaria, hypertension, ulcer, obesity, diabetes, and as a diuretic and purgative in Africa. Therefore, the present study sought to evaluate the diuretic, antidiuretic and laxative activities of the root bark of A. vogelii extracts and fractions in male SpragueDawley rats. Materials and methods: Sixty rats were placed in 10 groups which included: control (normal saline), furosemide/sodium picosulfate (25 mg/kg) as standard drugs, methanol extracts (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg), and 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg of saponin, flavonoid and neutral alkaloid fractions of A. vogelii. The drugs/extracts/fractions were administered orally using normal saline as the vehicle. Results: The 500 mg/kg methanol extracts (ME) significantly increased (p<0.05) the urine volume and electrolytes (Na + , K + and Cl -) excreted, while 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg flavonoid fraction (FF) decreased significantly (p<0.05) urine volume and electrolytes (Na + , K + and Cl -) excreted, but doses of saponin fraction (SF) and neutral alkaloid fraction (NAF) had no significant difference (p<0.05) compared to the control after 5 hrs. ME, SF, NAF significantly increased (p<0.05) the fecal output of the animals when compared to the control, while FF showed no significant difference (p<0.05) after 8 hrs of administration. Conclusions: This study determined that ME revealed diuretic activity, although not remarkable to furosemide, while FF showed antidiuretic activity, and potent laxative activities were discovered in ME and SF of A. vogelii.

Background: Anthocleista vogelii Planch is a medicinal plant used by traditional healers in the treatment of Malaria, hypertension, ulcer, obesity, diabetes, and as a diuretic and purgative in Africa. Therefore, the present study sought to evaluate the diuretic, antidiuretic and laxative activities of the root bark of A. vogelii extracts and fractions in male SpragueDawley rats. Materials and methods: Sixty rats were placed in 10 groups which included: control (normal saline), furosemide/sodium picosulfate (25 mg/kg) as standard drugs, methanol extracts (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg), and 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg of saponin, flavonoid and neutral alkaloid fractions of A. vogelii. The drugs/extracts/fractions were administered orally using normal saline as the vehicle. Results: The 500 mg/kg methanol extracts (ME) significantly increased (p<0.05) the urine volume and electrolytes (Na + , K + and Cl -) excreted, while 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg flavonoid fraction (FF) decreased significantly (p<0.05) urine volume and electrolytes (Na + , K + and Cl -) excreted, but doses of saponin fraction (SF) and neutral alkaloid fraction (NAF) had no significant difference (p<0.05) compared to the control after 5 hrs. ME, SF, NAF significantly increased (p<0.05) the fecal output of the animals when compared to the control, while FF showed no significant difference (p<0.05) after 8 hrs of administration. Conclusions: This study determined that ME revealed diuretic activity, although not remarkable to furosemide, while FF showed antidiuretic activity, and potent laxative activities were discovered in ME and SF of A. vogelii.